Union wants minister charged with murder if guards die at prison

A union has called for Queensland's corrective services minister to be charged with murder if an officer is killed at a privately run jail.

United Voice Queensland, which represents prisons guards, says overcrowding, understaffing and cost-cutting have led to an increasingly dangerous environment for staff and prisoners at the Arthur Gorrie jail in Brisbane.

Prison officers protest at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre in 2017.

Union spokesman Damien Davie claims GEO, the US-based prison operator, "was putting lives at risk in order to win a state government tender to continue running the facility".

Corrections minister Mark Ryan said the government would "not be pushed around on this issue".

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"I take the safety of everyone in our correctional system, be them staff, prisoners or the community at large, very very seriously," he said.

"The government announced last year that the tenders for private prison contracts are on hold subject to the investigations conducted by Taskforce Flaxton."

Taskforce Flaxton was set up by the Crime and Corruption Commission and uncovered corruption risks, including a failure to report corruption, inappropriate relationships, excessive use of force, misuse of authority, the introduction of contraband and misuse of information.

Mr Ryan said the government would consider CCC's finding before making a decision about private prisons.

In 2017, GEO, the provider at Arthur Gorrie, declined a request to take more prisoners beyond the current contracted level of 1187 prisoners, or 135 per cent, due to concerns about staff and prisoner safety and infrastructure limits.